Re: A New Monorail Line, or A Refub to the existing system?

Originally Posted by nsxdrift_89

Well, if the new refurb of the DL line, is any hope, than yes he might have the gall to approve a drastic transportation renovation, renewal.

DL is a totally different animal. Remember monorail expansion was part of the Westcot concept out there too. But DL is tiny (relatively speaking) and has a very small, short system that is more an attraction than transport.

It also only has/had four trains. Trains that were delivered in 1991 and are falling apart completely. Disney was too cheap to pay Bombardier to build new ones, so they are doing the work themselves by taking Monorail Orange apart and de-engineering it. I am not anxious to see the results.

Re: A New Monorail Line, or A Refub to the existing system?

I thought Bombader said they could not do DL's due to size difference... and it was easier to do WDW's cause that was their style...

The buses.. hmm.. I know they experiment with new buses every year and try new fuel.. and retrofit the buses to have lower emitions.. and get better MPG...

Besides... whats cheaper.. Buying the power for monorails which might be going up higher anyway... or running your own bus system... if the cost for running monorails and building them go down... they might consider it..

however it is easier now to run buses.. due to they can change routs and detour if one route is closed due to a crash...

Re: A New Monorail Line, or A Refub to the existing system?

From I understand the whole issue with Bombadier making new monorails had to do with machinery. Bombadier could easily build new monorails for WDW since the beamway is a standard transportation size. DL's is smaller and would require a different scale. Bombadier not only did not have design plans, but would also have to make completely custom parts.

Re: A New Monorail Line, or A Refub to the existing system?

Originally Posted by lazyboy97O

From I understand the whole issue with Bombadier making new monorails had to do with machinery. Bombadier could easily build new monorails for WDW since the beamway is a standard transportation size. DL's is smaller and would require a different scale. Bombadier not only did not have design plans, but would also have to make completely custom parts.

That's partially, true. It's a much smaller-scale job than they usually do. But Disney lowballed them on cost.

Re: A New Monorail Line, or A Refub to the existing system?

When I purchased my share in the Disney Vacation Club at Saratoga Springs, near Downtown Disney, I had to sign an acknowlegement that "there is an easement thru the property for a monorail line, however Disney has no plans to build it at this time...." something like that. This was about a year ago.

Re: A New Monorail Line, or A Refub to the existing system?

Originally Posted by SummerInFL

I wonder if they have ever visited the idea, although I don't mind the buses, however I have questioned their ability to use them in an efficient matter. For example, the HUGE line for Pop Century and buses sitting there waiting for direction from the guy in the white van. They don't spread them out on a need basis.

I think a huge monorail system might actually be a great idea! However, how they would connect all the hotels, parks and other important locations might be harder than we realize. That place is huge!

I don't see how a monorail system would be more efficient, unless having large empty monorails running around picking up non-existent guests during the day, or, in the monring or evening, having a monorail completely filled and having guests wait another 20 minutes, would be considered efficient.
Monorails would cool. Simple as that. Cool costs money. Tons.
Maybe a more efficient system would be to have a bus system from hotels to a new transportation hub nearer to the center of the parks. This new transportation hub would then have monorail service to each of the parks (and DD).
(And there would still be bus service for hotels nearer to a park than to the transportation hub.)

"Here You Leave the World of California Today and Enter the World of, um, er, California Today."

Re: A New Monorail Line, or A Refub to the existing system?

Re: Mark VI, What state are the Mark VI's in currently Mechanicaly and Internally. If it's only the Internal condition eveybodys complaining about, a reno should keep them going for another decade, which was the plan.

Re: TTC, I have a station design I did lying around here somewhere (Improved on the one I posted ages ago). I'll try and post it.

Re: Expansion. A simple expansion that would cut down busses would be to expand on the current Epcot loop. First, you would expand the line from just outside Test Track, around between Test Track and Mexico. Place a switchbeam to connect the new line to the current line in Epcot so if there is a breakdown, They can bypass the line and run around Epcot. Continue the line to Typhoon Lagoon. Curve the line back around past the Wide World of Sports, Across to Blizzard Beach, MGM Studio's and then connect the line back up to the current Epcot line outside Imagination!.

This will save on busses, because you would combine EPCOT\MGM busses at resorts, and Send the waterparks to the Theme parks to catch the monorail.

The only flaw would be the line would run in one direction only. This could be fixed by making the new spur line in Epcot bi-directional and running half the trains back to the TTC and the other half back around the new loop.

Epcot station and the TTC can be rebuilt to handle a larger loading Gauge, and the Mark VI (I'd never ditch the leerjet fronts) design can be enlargened to Tokyo Disney Resort standards. (OT But Disneyland Tokyo sounds better. I guess it's reversed because of the Japanese Language)

Re: A New Monorail Line, or A Refub to the existing system?

As a former WDW Rails CM, we used to get lots of expansion rumors going around. The big push for buses was deemed to be cheaper than expanding the monorail, so the buses were dispatched en masse.

It sure would be cool to have a larger system, but it's very, very expensive and a bit complex to design. Where will the beams go? Where would there be another TTC? How long would it really take to get from one point to another having to wait for a monorail, transfer, wait some more, etc. Power, more trains...there are a lot of questions and they all cost a LOT of money. Disney's tended to go with the "cheaper now" strategy in most cases.

Re: A New Monorail Line, or A Refub to the existing system?

I've never frowned upon a PM on any forum.

I remember staying in the Contemporary back in the 70s when they had painted maps of the Magic Kingdom and the Seven Seas Lagoon and monorail system. There, just off the loop near the Contemporary was the Persian Resort. I never did figure out how they were going to send the monorail there since the spur didn't seem too efficient. As a kid, I always shrugged it off and figured that it would somehow just work.

Re: A New Monorail Line, or A Refub to the existing system?

From what I read, the whole loop was going to be reversed, with the outer (resort) branching off, doing the persian, then coming back via a station in Tommorowland. Then when the Persian was put on hold, it was going to have a shuttle to the MK.

Looking at the maps, it probably wouldn't be a bad Idea and too hard to add the Wilderness Lodge to the loop, and they can recoup the cost in higher rates, and cutting the ferry and busses (And it's not like Disney-Bombardier beams aren't being made\have a dedicated construction facility). There should be enougth beamway left to curve back around for a possible Venetican resort (he curve radius should be fine going by Epcot).

What I ment by the post above is I would die to get a look at some of those manuals, but I do realise the 'problems' involved.